The Perfect Mutant
by CrazyAboutXmen
Summary: They all believed that the Phoenix was the most powerful mutant. Well, they were wrong, and she was going to prove it to them. The best program designed A mutant that can absorb others The most brilliant mind on the planet The Perfect Mutant
1. Dreams and Betrayal

_**The Perfect Mutant**_

Dreams and Betrayal

"_Murderer!_

"_Child molester!"_

"_Child killer!"_

"_Betrayer!"_

The voices went on and on. Each shout more vindictive than the last. All of them women.

"Who are you?" he asks.

"Who are we?! So disrespectful that you can't even remember us! We who gave our lives for you!"

"I can't remember!" he cried agonizingly. "Help me to remember!"

"Don't you remember me, darling?" a silver haired woman said, stepping from the mist that surrounded him.

"Who are you?" he asked again.

"Why, Silver Fox, darling. We met when I was just 12 years old. We loved like adults, though. And then you let me die. _Child killer! Molester!"_

"And of course, there's me," said a petite Japanese woman.

"And you are?"

"Mariko. Your fiancé. We were together for some time, but you had to play hero. You couldn't respect a simple thing like family honor. You cheated. You killed my father dishonorably. You left me without a husband or a father. And then you came back to finish the work of my father's enemies. You finished what the poison started. It was your claws that bore through my heart, ending my life. What a _loving husband_ you made. _Cheater!!!!!! Disgracer!!!!!!!!_

"Don't forget me," came another voice.

Out stepped a tall Japanese woman.

"You! You're Stryker's assistant! Yuriko."

"And your wife!" she shouted back.

"What! I never met you before that day at Alkali Lake."

"Liar! We spent years together. You worked for my father before the war. We were promised to each other. And then you just disappeared. Only for me to find out that you not only betrayed me but my father too. You killed him. Killed him in cold blood just for doing what_ you_ volunteered for. Stryker took me in after that. Gave me my claws. And gave me the perfect opportunity to use them against you. And _you!_ _You Betrayer_, you didn't even recognize me! You skewered me without mercy!"

"And of course, there's me," came a fourth voice.

Jean stepped out, joining his three other accusers.

"You always claimed to love me. But look at what you've done. You would die for those Mutants that think of you as just a goddamned _freak_! You would die for _them!"_

"No I would die for you! I would have if I could have made you right again."

"_Liar!!!!!!!!!!!!!_ You were just like them, thinking that I needed to be fixed!!!!"

"_Betrayer!!... Child molester!!... Liar!!... Deceiver!!... Killer!!... Monster!!!!!!"_

And as one they attacked en masse. And he just stood and took the abuse, knowing that of all the things that they said, one was most true. He was a monster.

He felt the claws of Yuriko slide into his stomach and couldn't prevent the howl of pain.

Screaming, he woke up.

"Logan! Ya alright in there?" came Marie's soft inquiry.

Breathing hard Logan looked at the door, bits and pieces of the dream returning to him. The dreams had progressively been getting worse since Jean's death.

It was as though the door that had been locked in his mind, trapping all his memories was slowly opening.

And the look of the man that he was getting from these dreams wasn't a pleasant one.

"Yeah, kid. I'm ok."

"Sure ya don't want meh to come in?" she asked.

He sighed, knowing that he wouldn't be able to hide from her much longer.

"Come in, Kid," he growled.

She came opened the door bearing his mark, and silently walked in.

'**She's learning' he thought. 'She was using the instincts and memories of the Wolverine, without even realizing it.'**

She sat on the edge of the bed and looked at him, taking in the sheen of sweat coating his body, the tangled sheets and the way he kept cracking his knuckles.

"The dreams have been getting worse, aren't they, sugah?" she asked.

He growled. He should have known that she would have figured out that the dreams continue to haunt him. After all, she did carry a large part of him inside her head, even with the cure.

The cure had removed her mutation, but it could do nothing about the memories that she already carried inside of her.

"Yeah, they have. I need… I need…" he stuttered.

"You need ta leave sugah."

He looked at her in shock.

"Don't be so shocked, Logan. Ah have ah piece of ya in here, remember," she said, tapping her head. "The Wolverine in here is getting ah little antsy since ah've kept him caged for some time. Ah figured that ya would need to get away as well… especially what happened with the Professor, Scott and Jean."

"The Professor and Jean, I can understand you saying that I miss them. But … One-Eye! Blech. I say, Good Riddance," he growled.

"Growl all ya want, Logan, but ah know ya. And ya miss Scott as much as ya miss Jean and the Professor! And the animal in ya is impatient to get out of here and onto the open spaces. Ya need it Logan."

"But the school…"

"The school has to grieve. They've lost ah lot; we've lost ah lot, true, but you're not going to help by not listening to ya instincts and then growling, snapping and snarling at everyone after. This will be good for ya and the rest of us."

"You're sure that _you _won't need me?" he asked bluntly.

She blushed slightly at that.

Ah'm ah big girl Logan. Ah can take care of mahself. _You've_ made sure of that."

"That's not what I mean. How are things goin' between you and Ice Boy? You worked things out with him yet?"

Her face hardened a bit at that.

"Bobby and I understand each other," she growled. "We stay out of each other's way so as to prevent murder from happening. Ah don't see him, Ah cain't kill him. Simple."

Logan laughed. "I see some of my traits have rubbed off on you kid."

They were silent for a while and then Marie said, "You know what ah said is true, Logan."

"Yeah, I know, kid. But I'm coming back. I gave you my dog tags again and I mean to reclaim them when I get back. Even if it is just to give Ice Boy a sound beating for abandoning ya."

"But ah'm fine Logan. And if it's me that's been keeping ya here, then by all means, you have my blessing to leave."

"You know me well, kid."

"So when ah ya leaving?"

"Might as well get things on the way. I'll leave in the morning."

"He's gone," the informant whispered into the satellite phone.

"How long?" she asked.

"Just over four hours."

"The Wolverine is so predictable. Some protector he's made himself to be!"

"Should we begin phase one?" the informant asked.

"Start the process. I don't want her to know anything about the extraction. I expect her at thee designated place at 0100 hours."

"Yes ma'am."

"And remember, I don't accept failure," she said coldly, and with a click disconnected the call.

With a shiver of fear, the informer put the satellite phone away; thinking of all the things to be done for Rogue to begin her new life.

With a grin of pure hatred at the thought of what was to come for the unsuspecting girl, the informant walked down the hallway and knocked on the door marked "Rogue".

"Come in," came the invitation.

"Hey Rogue. How you're holding up?" the informant asked.

"Ah'm fine. Just a little hungry. Ah stayed up all night with Logan talking."

"How about I bring up some leftovers for you. You can take a little nap in the meantime."

"Thanks, so much. I don't know what I'd do without you. You're such a good friend."

Smiling, the informant calmly went down to the kitchen to prepare the breakfast for the naïve girl, returning friendly greetings to all the mutants that passed. All the while, none of them knew of the plot taking place that could mean the destruction of them all.

Fixing a plate of toasted sandwiches and lemonade, the betrayer calmly retrieved the vial of potent liquid from its hiding place in plain sight, and poured the mixture that would change the life of Rogue forever.

_**A/N: So this is the first chapter of my first fanfic. What do you think of it? R & R please!!!!!!!!!! Good or bad feedback will be appreciated. Thanks so much to my beta, Sublime Angel (who was so caught up reading this chapter that she didn't beta it). And you were right. If you could you could get me hooked on fanfics. Again chica, thanks so much, you inspire me.**_


	2. Pain

Pain

Pain drove her from the black void of unconsciousness.

It felt as though her insides were being attacked by a blowtorch. Her breath came in gasps; her heart labored and her stomach began to boil. She felt as if each organ was literally being melted and then reshaped.

She tried to let out a scream, but her vocal cords rebelled.

Bile rose in her throat and spewed from her mouth, and then rolling back down her throat as her jaw locked. She choked, trying to expel it from her mouth but the synapses that sent messages from her brain to her muscles just could not connect.

Her body tensed, trying to curl into a fetal position, but was obstructed by something that kept her upright.

Her jaw unlocked, and she released a never-ending soundless scream as the pain went on and on.

Eventually, her mind withdrew from the pain, giving her the only release it could; unconsciousness.

The second time she woke, she knew instantly that it was back. Her skin was humming, over-sensitive from its long confinement.

A wave of grief swept over her as she thought of the freedom she had lost. And Logan wasn't even here to help her grieve. It wasn't fair. She had longed so much for what was a given to everyone else, had given up so much to protect those around her. She was tired of having to think for everyone else. The worrying, of having to make sure that every inch of her was covered so as to ensure there safety would all begin anew. She was tired of having to plan ahead, so as to avoid places with a lot of human traffic, where the likelihood of her shrugging past someone could in an instant turn fatal.

The pain that lived in her chest grew to gigantic portions and tears leaked from beneath her closed eyelids.

It was back to being an outsider, the observer, once again. A small sob escaped as she struggled with the weight of her grief.

"Well, well, well. It seems sleeping beauty has awakened," came a mocking voice.

Marie's eyes flew open. The bright light hit her eyes and she hissed in pain as her eyes struggled to adjust and focus on the owner of that voice. Her body tensed and went instantly into 'flight or fight' mode.

And that was when she realized that she was strapped to med lab gurney.

'What the hell?!' she thought.

"Who are ya?" she asked hoarsely, as her eyes focused on the tall, brunette, dressed in a white lab coat, standing directly to the base of the gurney.

"Are you sure that's the first question you want to ask, darling? Is that the one that's to the forefront of your mind?" she asked mockingly.

"Where am ah?"

"Now, now, Rogue –"

"Marie!" she growled.

"Well since we reversed the cure, I would say that you're back to being poor little, pitiful Rogue again. And as I was saying before you rudely interrupted me, don't you have a better question than those? Really, I credited you with more intelligence than you're suggesting at present. Now try again. They do say 'third time a charm'."

Marie looked around the room, as far as her strapped head would allow her too, taking in all that she could. She looked at the trays of medical instruments next to the gurney she lay on. She looked at the large glass chamber filled with some sort of green vapor and the one next to it that looked to contain the liquid version to it. From the far corner of her vision she saw the lab assistants scurrying from one computer to another, making various notations on the clipboards in their hands. And lastly she spied the camera in every direction that she looked. The room struck a chord in her.

'It reminds me of the med lab at the Mansion, sorta… no! It reminds me of the med lab in Logan's dreams,' she thought.

And that's when she felt real fear kick in.

The woman sniffed the air as the scent of her fear reached her and she smiled approvingly.

"Ahhh! Now you're thinking. So what's your question now, Rogue darling?"

Marie took a deep breath, trying to keep her voice steady as she asked, "Why am ah here?"

"And she asks correctly!" the woman said in a high falsetto voice. "And your prize is…" she paused, "a test drive of your skin."

As if in slow motion, Marie watched as the woman raised her bare hand and moved it to her bare ankle, strapped to the gurney.

Involuntarily her feet jerked, trying to get away from the woman's hand. But there was no give in the strap.

She watched in horror flesh met flesh.

Immediately her skin started imprinting.

"Noooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!" she screamed, thrashing. But it was to no avail. She just held on tighter.

Pressure began at the base of her brain, as the new entity forced its way into her mind. All of Lilly's thoughts and emotions, imprinted itself into her. She had access to all her memories. But worse, she saw all her goals. She saw the extent of what she had planned for her.

The pain increased a hundredfold for each second that Lilly held on, until she felt that it would split her apart.

And then… It stopped. For a few seconds, there was peace in her mind.

And then the noise came rushing back, as her mind tried to sort through the information that it had just received.

With the realization of what Lilly was going to do filled her mind, Rogue opened her eyes, filled with shock, horror and disbelief, and looked at the weakened Lilly.

Smiling, the weakened woman said, "Welcome to hell… _Rogue._"

_**A/N: Thanks so much to my first three reviewers, cooltangerine, PyroWhore and of course my beta, Sublime Angel. And yes, chica, I will try to watch the grammatical errors. Fixed the one you spoke of.  
**_


	3. Connections

Connections

Logan had just knocked out another faceless cage fighter opponent when he felt it. A sharp twinge in his chest.

Frowning, he rubbed his hand over his bare chest.

'That only happens when something was happening with Marie,' he thought. 'But she should be safe at the Mansion. Probably just a delayed reaction to a punch that I'd received earlier.'

But it still nagged him. So, much to the objection of all the spectators betting on how many men he could take down before the night was through; he stepped out of the cage and collected his belongings.

Once outside, he leaned on his motorbike and pulled the cell phone out of his pocket. He smiled as he looked at it. He'd bought it an hour after he'd left the mansion; calling her immediately to give her the number so that she could have access to him if she ever needed him. He'd made her a promise and he intended to keep it.

Again, he thought of the twinge in his chest.

'If she needed me, she would have called,' he thought.

But he still dialed the number to the mansion.

"Xavier High," came the agitated greeting.

"Hey Storm, how's it going?"

"Logan! Thank God! We've been trying to locate you for days."

Frowning, Logan growled, "Why?!"

"Rogue's missing!"

He felt his heart stop; just for a second, he felt his heart literally stop and his world blacken.

Gasping, he asked, "What do you mean missing? How the hell could you have lost her, already? It's only been forty eight hours."

"It's just that after you left, everyone just wanted to give her some space. So no one really checked on her until about twenty-four hours ago. Jubilee went to get her to go shopping and found out that she wasn't there. All her clothes are missing, all her pictures, and all her personal items are gone, but…" she stopped, not wanting to tell him the rest.

"But what Ororo?! Finish it dammit!! What's the rest?!" he snarled through the phone.

"That picture of the both of you… you know the one you nearly killed Jubilee for taking… it's… it's…"

"It's what, dammit! Just get on with it, Storm!"

"Itwastorntobitsandleftinthemiddleofthebed," she said in a rush, "and your dog tags were on top of them," she said, fearfully. "Logan, this doesn't feel right."

"I agree. I'm coming back. Send the Blackbird to get me," he said, his voice hard.

"Where are you?"

"Laughlin City."

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He buckled himself in as Bobby flew them back to the Mansion.

He'd known something had been wrong. That twinge had been the first sign, but when Storm had told him about that picture, his suspicions had been raised, and then confirmed when she told him of the dog tags.

Marie had loved that picture. She had teased him about for days after Jubilee had taken it. He remembered that day well. He'd been teaching her the basics of mechanics on his bike. They'd both been sweaty, greasy and oily, when Jubilee had snuck up on them and taken the shot. He'd asked her to pass him a wrench and being Marie, she'd sassed and teased him, until he'd grabbed her and held her in a friendly headlock and ruffled her hair.

"You need to stop sassing me, kid, if you want me to teach you anything," he'd growled.

"But ya've already taught meh a lot, Logan," she'd replied.

"Yeah? Like what?"

"Like this," she'd said, and then proceeded to growl at him.

He'd looked at her in shock at first. She'd sounded exactly like him. And then they'd burst out laughing.

And that's when Jubilee had taken the shot. She under his arm, in the headlock, the two of them laughing like a couple of hyenas.

He'd wanted to kill the little firecracker, or at the very least, destroy the camera. But Marie had stopped him.

"Leave her be, Logan. Ah actually _want _a picture of us together. It'd comfort meh when you're gone."

They'd sobered after that. The sad look on her face had caused his chest to ache.

"I may go, Marie. But as long as you have those," he said, holding his dog tags around her neck, "you know I'll always be back."

Marie would never leave his dog tags behind, he was sure of it. So it meant that she'd taken against her will.

He let the Wolverine take control, a warning growl starting low in his throat. No one touched what he'd claimed! He saw Bobby tense up even more on hearing it, and smiled slightly. It gave him some satisfaction to see the Ice Dick on guard around him, especially given what he'd done to her.

His claws sprang out as he taught of what she could be experiencing at this very moment, while he sat here, unable to help her.

"Can't this thing go any faster," he growled menacingly at the boy.

"Hold on to your seat, then, Wolvie," Bobby sneered, as he took them into hyper-drive.

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Storm was waiting for them when they arrived.

As soon as Bobby opened the hatch, Logan was striding out, heading directly to Marie's room Storm struggling to keep up with him.

"We've kept everything as we found it, Logan. Both Jubilee and I have just done a cursory scan of the room. We didn't want to disturb anything that might help you to pick up on something."

He ignored the stares that he received, from students and mutants alike, as he continued towards his goal.

They found the door to Marie's room open, with Jubilee standing in the middle of the room looking lost.

She looked up as they walked in.

"I was trying to pick up some stray thoughts of whoever was here last. But it's clean. Normally I'd pick up something, even if it's just a snippet of a dream. But there's nothing. She must have been drugged."

Wolverine growled. "Are you sure, kid? I mean, you powers have just started developing, you could be mistaken."

She tensed, insulted and affronted by his remarks. But then she thought about who was speaking. You didn't get between Wolverine and Rogue. You'd end up suffering more than helping. Those two were really close. So she could understand that he would be naturally wary of any info he got.

"Yeah, I am. My powers as a telepath may be raw, but it's strong! I always pick up _something_ even if I don't want to. This… this is strange."

He didn't respond; just walked to the bed and looked at the torn picture with the dog tags on top. Reaching down he picked the dog tags up. They looked strange in his hands. He'd gotten accustomed to seeing it on Marie's neck, after he'd given it back to her a second time.

Then he looked at the torn picture. Gently he picked up the pieces and tenderly placed them into his pocket, next to the dog tags.

It was only as he glanced back at the bed he noticed the small envelope.

It was addressed to him.

"I didn't notice that before," Jubilee said.

"Neither did me," Storm volunteered.

Slowly he opened the envelope and withdrew the single sheet of paper.

On it was typed neatly, one line, a succinct message. And it was enough to bring the Wolverine to the pinnacle of bloodlust.

It said quite simply: '_**Wolverine, do you think that you can rescue Rogue from the bowels of hell?!'**_

His claws popped out of its own accord and his lips peeled back in a snarl so terrifying that both Storm and Jubilee took a couple steps away from him.

"Those bastards better find a good rock to climb under and hide! They better start praying to _all_ the deities under the stars, _because no one touches what is mine! No one messes with my mate! There's no way to hide that I won't find them!_" he roared.

_**A/N: So what do you think of this third chapter? Did I get Wolverine right? Tell me if you like it people!!!!!!**_


	4. Communication

Communication

Forty eight days.

One thousand, one hundred and fifty two hours.

Sixty nine thousand, one hundred and twenty minutes.

Four million, one hundred and forty seven thousand, two hundred seconds.

She had been free.

Free!!!!!

What a joyous feeling. To have the freedom to touch, to hold, to kiss, to caress.

All gone.

The grief welled up in her again. As well as something new; something she was afraid to identify, but her innate sense of brutal honesty caused her name the feeling still.

Hopelessness.

Such a simple word, but it could mean her life.

If she didn't have that will to live then she wouldn't have the desire to fight Lilly. And finding out what a bitch she was, she wanted to mess up her plans just on principle alone.

**_What the hell do you mean, you want to give up? Are you crazy?_**

Marie gasped, startled.

"Who the hell are you?"

**_Rogue darlin'._**

"You've never spoken before."

**_Of course not. You've done fine before. There were a few times that I considered it but you've always shown me that we do share a common backbone. But this bitch drags you away from a life that you are actually proud of and you won't give up without a fight. Hell no!_**

"What's the point! I can't touch a single person without adding to the melee that's up there," she said, tapping her head lightly.

**_The point is that you have a gift, and that means that you have a responsibility to do what you have to beat this bitch down._**

"But the cure…"

**_The cure would have worn off eventually. It already was. I could feel the effects wearing off. Didn't you find that Wolverine got a little bit stronger since your last conversation with him, with all that touchy-feely comfort that you gave him?_**

"Not really."

**_Then I must be getting really better at holding the guys at bay. By the way we must be glad that Lilly got rid of herself up here, else we would have been experiencing a whole lot of other problems._**

"I know. I felt the restlessness… But if the cure was temporary, does that mean that I'll never be able to touch anyone again? Will I never be able to kiss a friend, have a real boyfriend, get married, have sex, and have children?"

**_Darlin' haven't we learned that anything in this world is possible! We'll find a way. And we might even use this bitch to help us_**

Marie smiled. "I like that idea a whole lot."

**_You just need to learn to accept me Marie. I'm as much a part of you as you are of me. If we learn to use each others strengths we'll be able to get out of this._**

"Let's beat this bitch!!!!!!!!"

_**A/N: Sorry it took so long to update. I just got a promotion on work and took over a new job position that has me really busy. I've now been able to buy out some time to get this typed. Sorry so short though.**_

_**Just loved the idea of Rogue being a separate entity from Marie. Hope to explore that some more.**_


	5. Strange Conversation

Strange Conversation

'Where was she?!' he silently asked. 'Where could she possibly be that I can't even find a single lead that would give me a fragment of hope?'

He'd gone to every haunt, called in every favor, begged and bribed many others, and yet no one could offer even a crumb of information as to where she could be.

The entire school was in an uproar at her abduction. Some of the younger kids were scared, knowing that she had been taken from the school, somewhere they had come to associate with safety. Now that safety had been breached and they weren't sure how to respond; how to regain that feeling of safety.

Storm had her hands full trying to calm the fears of the young ones, and calm the outrage and fury of the older ones. He could see the toll it was taking on her and wanted to help, but at present he was tied up in his own stresses. He couldn't eat, he couldn't sleep. His dreams were tormented by the possibilities of what could be happening to her. And it seemed that every time he closed his eyes, some new memory surfaced, jumbling and then adding to the terror he already felt for Rogue.

So engrossed was he in his thoughts that he didn't even hear him until the little boy touched him.

"Mr. Logan?" came the young voice.

Jumping slightly at how silent the child had been, Logan growled around his cigar, "What, kid?" His heart skipped a beat at the endearment he commonly used with her.

"I had a dream," the blond haired child stated simply.

Logan looked at him expectantly, waiting to hear what the dream had been about. But the child remained silent.

"And kid? Was it a good dream, or a bad one?"

"I … I don't know. I wasn't in the dream; it was like if I was watching a movie. You, Ms. Storm, that Bobby guy, a guy with a metal helmet, a blue skinned lady, a big blond scary looking guy and a whole lot of other mutants were fighting this lady with black and white hair."

"What?! A lady with black and white hair? Describe how her hair was?"

"It was black in the back but the front was white. She looked really cool," he said excitedly. And then he stopped.

"And then what, kid?"

"Then the dream kinda fast forwarded. And the black and white haired lady was surrounded by a whole lot of dead people. They looked a lot like the people that she was fighting before, but skinnier, like if the life had been sucked out of them. And the black and white haired lady was crying. And then you came and you asked her why she did it. And she said that she didn't have a choice, and you told her that you always have a choice… She said not always. And then she held up her hand and you were actually flying to meet her with your claws out. They went right through her chest. She had screamed and you screamed. But you didn't pull your claws out and she said that she didn't have a choice. The only thing she could have done was to save them, and…"

The child stopped, and Logan felt as if he would explode. Everything the child had described was so vivid; it was if he were actually living it. He needed to hear the end of it. He needed to know what happened.

"What happened, child?"

The child tilted his head slightly, as if confused. "Well, in the dream, it looked as if she turned her head and looked directly at me where I was standing, observing everything that was taking place. And she said, 'Tell him that he needs to trust me. And that I love him.' And then everything just went black, and I woke up. It really seemed so real, Mr. Logan. I wanted to talk to Ms. Storm about it, but she was so busy that I didn't see the need to approach her. But it really bothered me. I needed to tell _someone._ You don't mind listening to me, do you Mr. Logan?" the child asked.

Logan looked at the child and marveled at how mature he seemed, so much older than his age.

"How old are you, kid?"

"I'm five years old."

"Why'd you come here?"

"My parents didn't like me moving things with my mind. So when the cure came out they took me to get the shot. But within a week, my powers were back. So they threw me out and told me to never come back. I actually came to the school through Mr. Hank. He met me sleeping in the park and invited me to come stay here with him. I really like it here Mr. Logan. It'll be too bad when most of it will be destroyed. But at least we'll build it back. I hope," the child said, as if this were the most normal of conversations.

"Well, Mr. Logan thanks for listening to me. I feel much better now. I'll see you around, ok!" he said as he started to run off.

Logan scratched his head as he considered the strange conversation.

"Hey, kid! What's your name?"

"Oh, my name's Ryan, Mr. Logan. Bye!"

_**A/N: Sorry it's such a short chapter, but I don't want to give out to much of the goodies. Just keep in mind that this chapter has a lot of hints in it. (Hehehe).**_

_**Hope you enjoyed it though. And isn't Ryan just a cutie.**_


	6. Test Drive

Test Drive

A bucket of water to the face was never the best way for a person to wake.

Worse, if the person could absorb you and knock you out cold for a good few hours, you learn to wake a person with a lot more dignity.

At least that was what the two guards Lilly had sent to escort her to the med lab found out.

"Well, well, well, it seems that our Rogue is in fighting mood this morning," Lilly's voice said, coming through the hidden speakers in the room.

It took a little while for her words to register, even while the two guards psyche found out about their roommates in her head, namely Wolverine and Magneto. While the two men could not stand each other, they were united in the fact that they hated those who abused mutants. Rogue had her hands full trying to keep everything running smoothly, thus giving Marie an instant headache.

A headache that instantly grew with Lilly's next words.

"Hope you keep up the spirit for our little experiment this morning. Now walk quietly out of your cell and my guards will escort you to me."

Marie scowled at the camera, and refused move from her position.

Lilly laughed. "You really need to learn who is Mistress and Slave, my dear. When I say 'jump' you are to say 'how high, Mistress'."

"And I say to you, you can kiss my lily white ass. After all you do share a name, eh, darlin'," Marie growled.

"I see you will need a little forceful training. PROCEED TO THE DOOR NOW!!!"

She punctuated her words with strong blasts from the mutant suppressor.

Marie felt the force of what the vile choker could do. The electrical bursts had all her synapses constricting, giving her less oxygen. She struggled to breathe, and yet she would not move an inch to the door.

And Lilly give her reply in sending more of the vile poison into her system, suppressing her mutation, part of which was the healing factor she had inherited from Logan.

Pain had her dropping to her knees and then curling into a fetal position, as she went past all higher brain functions, leaving her in a world only of pain.

And then it eased.

"I hope that you have learned lesson number one well, Rogue, darling. I really don't want to have to teach you again. Now on your feet, and proceed to the door. The guards will escort you to me."

She growled low in her throat, but slowly, painfully got up and proceeded to the door.

Score one for Lilly.

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"Well Rogue, darling, I must say you recover very quickly from your ordeals. Your pallor is much better than a few minutes ago," Lilly said in a falsely concerned tone.

Marie pulled her lips back in a snarl, but said nothing as the lab assistants strapped her to the gurney.

She tested the straps and noted that they were extremely tight and strong. Even with the Juggernauth's strength she would not have been able to break free from this.

"Ah, I see you've discovered another of my inventions. The straps use your own strength against you. The harder you pull the tighter it will restrict you, using your own strength to power it. I can't have my subjects bursting free when I'm trying to cut them open, now can I?"

"You can go to hell, bitch!" Marie snapped.

An electrical pulse was Lilly's reply.

Marie jerked in response.

"Everything is prepared, Doctor," the assistant informed Lilly.

"Very good. Bring in Subject 165," she said to the assistant. To Marie, she said, "This is my favorite part about experiments. All my pores raise. I get all excited. I mean this could mean the progression of my plan or reveal that I have more work to do. Either way, it's so exciting."

The young woman that was brought into the med lab could barely walk unescorted. She leaned heavily on the two guards that brought her in. She was gaunt, her black hair hanging limply around her shoulders. But it was her eyes that caused Marie's eyes to water slightly.

They were the eyes of the abused and hopeless. Not a shred of faith could be found in the girl's brown eyes, and that more than anything, caused such pain in Marie's chest, she had to close her eyes from her image.

"Meet Subject 165, Marilyn. Marilyn has been with me for quite some time, way before the cure. She's an empath and telepath, but nothing major, just a class one. But what really drew me to Marilyn was her fire. She was a lot like you in that manner, but she learned, as you will, as well. Of course she will be used to for your first official test drive of your skin and the progress of my work."

"Now Marilyn, I want you to hold Rogue's hand, and don't let go," Lilly commanded.

"Yes Mistress," the girl lifelessly replied.

"What!" came the startled shriek from Marie.

She watched in horror as the girl slowly walked toward her, as if on mind control. It reminded her of a horror movie that she and Jubilee had watched recently. One woman had taken control of an entire town and everyone had been turned into a zombie. Of course, at the time she and Jubes had laughed till their side hurt at the idiocy of such a thing happening. But it was. And there wasn't a thing that she could do about it.

Marilyn grabbed hold of her hand.

At first, nothing happened.

She breathed a sigh of relief, for once glad for the suppressor.

Her eyes met Lilly's and the woman smiled, even as she pressed a button to stop the flow of the poison into her body.

Immediately, she started to imprint.

She met Marilyn's eyes, silently pleading with her to stop, to pull back.

But there was nothing there. No spirit, no life.

She felt the psyche of Marilyn growing stronger in her, and fought for control, the switch to turn it off. Anything but this. It was so much like her experience with Magneto that her terror grew. But it was worse. For she knew that if Marilyn didn't let go soon, she would be dead, and Marie would be her murderer.

"Please…" she begged Marilyn.

And for one moment, she saw life; she saw spirit.

But Lilly being the predator that she was, sensed it too, and brought her gloved hands to cover theirs.

Marie couldn't break her gaze from Marilyn's eyes. She saw the spirit flare brighter and encouraged it.

"Don't do this!" she begged the girl.

The entity made a last ditch effort to fight back, but Lilly was too strong.

And then…

She was gone.

Her body dropped lifelessly to the floor.

Marie watched in horror at the shrunken figure, devastated at what had been done.

In that moment, something vital inside Marie snapped.

She was no longer Marie and Rogue. The innocence that kept Marie alive was gone.

Instead she embraced the Rogue in her.

All the entities, David, Magneto, Pyro, Bobby, Wolverine, the guards, and finally Marilyn, all converged on the one emotion they shared.

Rage.

Claws shot out of her knuckles.

Fire scorched the gurney under one hand, while under the other was frozen solid.

Metal flew unrestricted all across the lab as assistants dove for cover.

And those closest to her held their heads and screamed in pain as she amplified their terror.

But through it all, Lilly stood there impervious, smug smile on her lips.

They saw red and focused on her.

"**WE WILL **_**KILL**_** YOU!!!!"** they said in a layer voice of all the entities. **"YOU WILL **_**SUFFER**_**!!!!"**

_**A/N: Hope you like the chapter people. Thanks to all my reviewers, and to my beta Sublime Angel.**_


	7. Rage

Rage

Wolverine's roar woke every living soul in the Mansion. Some dove for cover, using their abilities to provide protection, while the braver ones went toward the source of the commotion.

Storm was the closest to Wolverine and made it there first, with Jubilee following in a close second.

Both could hear the sound of furniture being shredded with his adamantium claws.

"What the hell!" Storm said. "Jubilee, can you sense anyone else in there with him?"

The young girl concentrated, searching out the entities in the room, but could only sense Wolverine.

"He's alone," Jubilee said, but stopped Storm as she moved to open the door. "Something's wrong with him, Storm. I don't think it's wise that anyone enter this room. It's as if there's no humanity in him, just the Wolverine in control. I can't sense any human reasoning, just pure unadulterated RAGE. I don't what he could do in a state as this."

As if in response to Jubilee's statement, they all heard something smash and splinter against the door.

Storm met Jubilee's eyes in concern.

"We can't loose another," Storm whispered. "I can't loose another!"

"We need to get the children out of this wing, at least for the night," Jubes told her, recognizing that the older woman, uncharacteristically needed guidance at the time.

Nodding, Storm moved to corral the children to the next wing.

Watching the weather witch do her part, Jubilee once again turned her attention to the door that bore Logan's mark; three vertical claw marks in the wood.

Another roar could be heard from him, and she cringed.

But then thinking of Ororo's expression, she straightened her shoulders, and once again reached out telepathically…

And was sucked into the chaos of the room.

She felt rage that wasn't hers coursing through her veins.

She saw images that she had never seen before.

And she felt such base, animalistic emotions, that her human mind struggled against the force of it.

'What the hell!' she said, echoing Storm's words.

"Marrrrieeeee!!!!!" came the mournful howl.

Looking over, she saw Logan staring at some image to the left of him.

Following his gaze, she saw Rogue strapped to a med lab gurney, straining to break free from its restraints. Rogue's attention was focused only on one individual, even as chaos ruled in the lab, with assistants diving for cover, some holding their heads and screaming. She noticed steam coming up from beneath Rogue's body and upon closer inspection, she realized that beneath one hand was blue with ice and beneath the other was red hot with fire.

But what frightened Jubilee the most was the maniacal rage that emanated from her eyes, all directed at the tall brunette.

"Fight all you want, darling Rogue," the woman said smiling, "it just makes it all the more pleasurable."

And with a wider grin, the woman pressed a button from the remote in her hand.

Jubilee watched as Rogue jerked; and then the rage increase.

"KILL YOU!!!!" came a layered voice out of Rogue's mouth.

Jubilee felt goose bumps rise along her body, at the horror of that voice.

Another shot.

This time Rogue didn't even flinch, just concentrated on the brunette, her eyes narrowing.

"TAKE ALL THE PLEASURE YOU CAN NOW," came the layered voices, "JUST KNOW THAT WE WILL MAKE YOU SUFFER, AND SUFFER MERCILESSLY. THINK THE PAIN STRYKER CAUSED YOU WAS IMMENSE. IT IS _NOTHING_ TO WHAT WE WILL DO YOU. COUNT YOUR MINUTES, FOR THEY ARE NUMBERED!"

The brunette's eyes narrowed in anger at Rogue's words, and she stepped closer, her face directly in front of Rogue's.

"_Listen Bitch! Test me and YOU will find out what it means to suffer. None of you goody two shoes friends can help you, and never will. They are no match for me! Not even your precious Wolverine. YOU are no match for me! Push me as far as you want, but know that I will push back much harder than you ever could. As far as I'm concerned, you are a THING, of little worth, like a pair of gloves that I use and discard. Think you can handle me? I DARE you! Go ahead!"_

Rogue smiled.

"TOUCHED A NERVE THERE, DIDN'T I? AND DON'T WORRY, WE ALWAYS KEEP OUR WORD. MARK OUR WORDS LILLY, THE DAY WILL COME."

Lilly snarled, revealing sharp incisors.

Raising her hand, she revealed the remote and determinedly pressed, keeping her finger firmly pressed on the button.

She watched in satisfaction as blood started pouring from Rogue's nose and mouth.

And she smiled as Rogue's eyes rolled back and she was shoved into unconsciousness.

She didn't hear Wolverine's roar of rage as he attacked, even as they were sucked out of the vision.

Jubilee snapped back to her body in time to see Wolverine's claws slide through the door and shred it, inches from her face. "What the hell!"

Jumping back, she silently considered how closely she had come to losing her life.

Breathing heavily, she struggled to calm her racing heart, even as she considered the vision she had just seen.

It took a few minutes to recognize that the sounds of rage had quieted in Wolverine's room.

"Wolverine?" she called, softly.

A grunt was her response.

"Can I come in?"

For a few moments, there was no response, and then the door opened, squeaking heavily on its battered hinges.

Jubilee gasped slightly at the sight of the destruction before her.

Everything was shredded. The bed, the mattress, the curtains, the sheets, the chest of drawers was in parts; even the wall bore his claw marks.

"What happened, Logan?" she asked softly.

With a bewildered expression, so unlike the Wolverine, he said, "I don't know. I can't remember. All I know is that she needed me and I couldn't help her! She lay there bleeding and I couldn't help her! Help me find her Jubilee, we need to find her!" he cried.

Shocked, Jubilee watched as one lonesome tear made its way done his cheek.

_**A/N: Okay here goes. I hope you people like the chapter, sorry about the grammatical errors. If you notice any, point them out and I will correct them as soon as possible. I didn't get to beta the last few chapters because I've been writing in my spare time, which is so minimal it's a shame. But thanks nonetheless to my beta, Sublime Angel for her continued support. **_

_**Now to my reviewers: **_PyroWhore, shelaweena, dulcesweet, emma134, Trickstersthiefgirl, Mnesomne's Tears, xXxoddballxXx, lildevil0644, saz89, TaraFish, _**thank you so, so, so, so very much, for your reviews. They are what keep me going. I appreciate every one. I will try to answer each of them when I get the time. **_

_**To the people that have added me to your Favourite Author and Story List, thanks so much, and I hope to keep you interested enough to keep on reading. PS: You can review as well, when you get the chance (he he he :)**_


	8. Consultation

Consultation

They held a meeting with the senior members of the XMen team to discuss Logan's 'episode'.

The new teacher, Morph, was also asked to join them, as his skills as a shape shifter would be used to have a visual on the woman that both Jubilee and Logan had seen.

"Just relax, Wolverine," Jubilee urged, even as she herself struggled to compose herself.

She had never done this before. True, her powers of telepathy had risen itself late in her mutation, but she had instinctively known how to wield it. But this was an aspect that she had never tested, having no guidance and not wanting to harm anyone in the process.

Surprisingly, Logan was the one to take hold of her hands, and looking her directly in the eye, he said, "Relax, kid. You'll do fine."

His words went a long way in calming her nerves and she settled.

She placed her hands on the sides of his head, her finger tips lightly at his temples.

"Now go back to before everything happened tonight. What were you doing?"

"I was reading one of Marie's letters. She had written it to me about three years aback, thanking me for saving her life at Liberty Island. She had spoken of how she was glad that it was my truck she had decided to sneak into. How much meeting me changed her life; all the good that's done," he said mockingly.

Ororo watched the pair, the petite Asian firecracker, and the gruff, lonesome Wolverine, sharing something so profound. And she thought of what Logan and Marie shared, what Jean and Cyclops had shared, and in the deepest recesses of her soul, she wondered if anyone cared that much about her.

Chiding herself for her selfishness, she returned her attention to the pair, as she recorded every word that was said for further reference.

"What happened after?" Jubilee encouraged.

"I fell asleep, I guess. I had been playing with the tags; they make me feel closer to her, y'know and it reminds me of my promise. There was such pain in my chest, I felt like I couldn't breathe. The Wolverine in me was mourning the loss of its mate. And then I was sleeping, dreaming of the times when she was here, how happy she was. She has such a lovely smile. One look at her smile and you can't help but smile too, happy to be alive. And then-"

"Then…" Jubilee prompted.

"Then the dream changed abruptly. It was almost as if I'd been yanked out of it. And all I could feel was_ rage_. Such pure, unadulterated rage. It felt like I was in the middle of a berserker rage, and that's only happened once, that I can remember…"

"And that was when?"

"When we broke out of Stryker's labs. The feeling of rage against another being we had never felt against another being until now. It caused my leash on the Wolverine to slacken. But there was Marie, right in front of me."

And then his voice became deeper, rougher, more of a growl. For a moment Jubilee pulled back, as she felt the change in him. But he continued.

"Why did she leave me, my Marie? Was it because I always left her? That was Logan. He needed to see her grown before he would claim her as our mate. But I knew she was mine. She was here, and here she was safe, both from me and from those who would seek to harm her. Logan kept me on a tight leash, but I monitored her progress. And I worked on him too. Got him to notice from time to time that she was a _woman_; almost ready for the taking; just a little while longer."

"And you are?" Jubilee asked, but already knowing the answer.

"Wolverine."

"What happened after you saw Marie, Wolverine?"

"She was strapped down. She didn't even notice we were there. I was there watching as the bitch tortured her. I could smell the lab reeking of fear, and all the humans were diving for cover, but there was one, the bitch, she just stood there, mocking her, mocking me with my helplessness. And my rage grew, and I attacked. Had to tear the bitch to pieces. Hurting my mate. She had to die. But as much as I tried, I couldn't get to her. I howled, I whined, I cried for Marie to look at me, away from her, and she wouldn't be able to hurt her, hurt me. But Marie wasn't Marie. She was more. She was all."

"What do you mean, she was all?"

"She was all of them. All whom she had ever absorbed, their scents combined to make a new one. One that was strange, disturbing. Why won't my Marie come back? Why did they take her? Who took her? Must kill! Kill all of them! They must pay."

"What did the woman that hurt Marie look like?"

"She was tall, about 6' 2, long brown shiny hair, brown eyes, heart shaped face, straight nose, slim but not skinny. She would not have been hard to kill. One slash to the throat. But I would take my time. I want her to suffer, the way she's making my Marie suffer. I want to cut her to pieces so she could still feel it. And then after it all, I'd rip out her guts and shove her heart down her throat. She has to die!"

Jubilee shuddered at the pure menace in his voice, but she continued.

"Alright Wolverine, continue with what happened."

"The rage increased, and all I could taste was blood, all I could feel was blood rushing through my veins, through her veins, through their veins. My vision turned red with bloodlust. But Marie was getting worse. They were taking control. She was hurting. And she came right up in Marie's face and pressed the button. There was blood pouring out of her nose! Her eyes! And her mouth! Mariiieeee!" he howled.

Jubilee had just a split second before his claws popped out.

Instantly the trance was broken, the memory – gone.

"What the hell just happened?" Logan roared.

And then he glanced over at Morph, who bore the image of Lilly.

And he went berserk, instantly attacking.

"Wolverine! No!" Storm shouted.

But he was too far gone.

A blast of lightning had him falling and convulsing on the floor, as Beast quickly went over to help the wounded man.

"We are sorry we had to do that. We didn't realize how strongly you would have reacted to her face, but we should have anticipated. Let me just get you up into a chair now."

But Wolverine just growled in return.

His eyes cleared and Logan regained control.

Carefully Beast helped his comrade, all the while marveling at the rate of healing. The first degree burns were already healing and it was only a few seconds.

"We need to find her now, Beast!"

"I know, Logan. We'll find her."

"You don't understand! Now, Beast! He's getting stronger! And fast. Whereas he was content to let me lead before, this has pushed him past his own limits. The animal is aggravated. It's longing to break free… I don't know how long I can control it again… I think I need to leave… It might be safer."

Storm stepped in. "Why don't you go work it off in the Danger Room, Wolverine? We can't afford to loose you to your animal. You're our only link to her. _We _need you! There's someone I know who might be able to use Cerebro. Let me call her."

"Why didn't you call her before?" Logan growled.

"Because I wanted her no where near my children. But… but this has become necessary. I'll… I'll make the call," she stammered.

As she picked up the phone to do so, the door burst open.

"There's a news bulletin that you must see! I think it has something to do with Rogue!"

_**A/N: So there you have it, chapter 8. What do you think of it? Was it too lame? Feedback people, it's necessary to me (he he he)**_

_**Thanks to all my reviewers, as usual. For those who had any questions or concerns, I hope I answered all. **_


	9. Shocker She's Dead

_**A/N: I know most of you are begging for some real action between Lilly and Rogue. Never fear, it's coming. But you need some of the chapters before it for it to make sense. Hope you enjoy this chapter though.**_

Shocker (She's Dead)

"In a shocking turn of events, one of the former 'Cure' clinics has been bombed today by irate mutants whose powers have returned. There is said to many injuries but only one casualty, a yet unidentified young woman between the age of 18 and 25. She is 5 feet 9 inches, Caucasian, with blank hair and white streaks. This is a police sketch of what the young woman is believed to have looked like…"

A likeness of Rogue was then shown and the newscaster continued, "If you have any information on this young woman and her identity please contact…"

"It's not true," an ashen Logan whispered. "We would have known. We would have felt it."

"The police report, says that…" Bobby started.

"I said it's not TRUE!!!" Logan snarled. "She's still alive. I know it. We have to keep looking. Storm we need to keep looking."

"Logan, I know it's hard to accept. We'll send a team to investigate it…"

"Don't bother," a new voice intruded.

Shocked, Ro looked up at the newcomer in a mixture of fear, rage and relief.

"Emma. What the hell are you doing in my school?" Storm said frostily.

"Well you were going to call and invite me anyhow, Ro dear. So as I was in New York I decided to drop by and save you a phone call," the blonde said.

"I want you nowhere near my kids."

"Awww, concerned mother, are you? I wonder how your precious kids would feel about you if I gave them some _more_ information on you."

Storm's eyes started to whiten and the sky started to boil as her anger boiled.

"Are you threatening me?"

"No. Of course not! Just giving you a friendly reminder, that's all."

"Well despite all the byplay and tension that's flying across this room, I want to know what you mean by not bothering to check if that's really Rogue. And who the hell are you anyway?" the Asian firecracker asked in her usual bold manner.

The blonde's eyes flashed for a minute and Jubilee felt pressure against her mind; and she instantly brought up her natural shields to prevent the telepath's reading of her mind.

"So you're a telepath?" Jubilee said derisively. "Doesn't mean that you get to play God."

"But your precious Professor could, and be adored for it too," the woman replied.

"Enough!" Logan roared. "Who the hell are you? What are you doing here? And if you have information for us, give it to me and move on. Otherwise, you're wasting our time."

"Testy, aren't we, Wolverine. But then you always were, even before William gave you your claws, well your adamantium at least."

Frowning, Logan asked, "You know me?"

"But of course. But that's not the question. The question is; what will you give to know what I know?"

"Nothing. Because it means that you're unscrupulous and therefore I want nothing to do with you."

Laughing, she said, "Well if it isn't the pot calling the kettle black. The Wolverine talking of scruples. You who slaughtered hundreds in cold blood, at the beck and call of another."

Logan growled warningly, even as he waged war with the Wolverine for control.

But they did share a common desire to rip the woman apart.

"Do you have information on Marie or not?" the ever diplomatic Hank asked.

"I do," the woman replied.

"Well spill, Emma," Storm said angrily.

"Marie is dead, or out of commission for a while, at least, Rogue is very much alive."

"Make up your mind woman," Jubilee groused. "Is she dead or alive? She can't be both."

"Au contraire, she can. I can sense her life force connected to Wolverine. They are somehow linked in a bond that I myself find unfathomable. However, I can't track it. Not even Cerebro could. Whatever, or whoever has her is very powerful and shield or cloak their whereabouts. That's as much as I can tell you at this point. The rest is up to you."

She stepped out the room, but as she opened the door, she turned back, and turning her attention to Storm.

"Now you owe me. When I call, I expect you to answer," she said coldly. And with those words she walked out, leaving as quickly as she came in.

"Who the hell was that?" Jubilee asked again.

"Emma Frost, President and CEO of Frost Industries," Storm replied. "She's also one of the most powerful mutants on the face of the planet."

"Well I don't care. She's a damn bitch!"

"Jubilee! Language!" Storm reprimanded.

"Well it's true. She's cold. And I don't care if she's a telepath and can probably pick up on how I feel about her. I don't like her."

"Well you should care," Storm said.

"Why?"

"Because you now owe her; and owing Emma Frost is one dangerous position," Storm replied gravely.

_**So there's your next chappie. Hope you enjoy it. PyroWhore you were right, it was Emma Frost. And we haven't seen the last of her yet, the moral person that she is. (he he he). Next up, action. That is if I can actually get some time to write with my new job. Anyways, enough of my stress filled life. Toddles.**_


	10. Kill or Be Killed

_**A/N: I'm really sorry for how long it took me to deliver this chapter. I hope to get my chapters in a little faster.**_

_**Anyways, I won't keep you any longer. Enjoy!!!**_

Kill or Be Killed

It was six weeks since she'd been officially dead, and all they'd done on her so far was tests, tests and more tests.

She had more needles marks than a leopard had spots, and she was ready to scream.

'At least it's better than turning the motel up here into a hotel. Ah can only hold so much people in mah head y'know.'

'Would you quit complaining, m'dear,' Erik addressed. 'Your life is not as bad as you think it to be. You have a wonderful gift, and you refuse to even embrace it. Young people today have no kind of steadfastness anymore.'

'Now who's complainin', ol' man. Ya think because ya went through the concentration camps that ya life was sooo hard. Plz. It's nothing compared to what Logan, or even Marilyn went through. An' talking about steadfastness; you were the one tah put me in a machine that runs on your power, all so that you wouldn't lose _your_ life! Hypocritical!"

'It's for the cause. One day you are going to realize that in life you will always have to sacrifice something. The question is, 'Are you making the right choice?''

'Shove it. Each an' every life is precious. Who died an' made yah God?'

'In a war, a few have to be sacrificed for the many. One day you'll learn, my dear; one day you'll understand.'

'Ah resent that. Ah would never take the life of one to save many.'

'Are you sure of that? Do you think you can stand by that?'

'I am. I will!'

'We'll see my dear, we'll see.'

She brought her to a room that she had never seen before during her short time in captivity.

"This is the monitory room," Lilly boasted to her.

All eight walls of the octagonal room were actually computer screens, with split screens, all monitoring different cells of the base.

"Eight thousand, three hundred and thirty three mutants and counting. All of them bagged, tagged and monitored," Lilly said gleefully, as if she were describing how many gifts she got for Christmas, "And guess what, my darling Rogue? … They don't mean a thing to me. Their only purpose is that I can harness their mutations, amplify them where necessary, and then dispose of them when they are of no longer any use to me. However, you my dear have changed all of that."

This brought Rogue out of her study of all the mutants that this woman had, caged like animals.

"What?! What the hell do ya mean, Ah changed all of that?"

"You see, I got to thinking one day that there are over three billion mutants on the earth at present, and at least a hundred are born each day. But many of them have redundant powers. So basically we have about ten thousand different mutations, with a few variations of the same power here and there. I wanted one of each, to examine and experiment on them, see what really causes their mutations to react in certain ways and so on. But my problem was that over a hundred different mutants are born every day: mutants reproducing with other mutants, resulting in combinations of two totally different powers every time, and then mutants reproducing with humans with the latent X gene. This of course means that we now have new mutations surfacing every day. So how could I keep track? How would I continue to harness the power of the mutants, if they kept mutating?

I had the best programme ever designed, the most intelligent mind on the planet, bar none, and then you, my darling, came along. All I needed was you now. You were truly a blessing because now it meant that I had a mutant who could absorb and use the powers of others as her own. The only problem was that you could only do so temporarily, or so you thought. But then I got to thinking, if you held on long enough so that you actually drained the life force of the mutant completely, then wouldn't you remain with their power since there would be no where else for the life force to flow back to? And there was always the possibility that the power _does_ stay with you, and you just didn't realize it. You were _perfect_.

You could absorb hundreds, and had the potential for even thousands, into yourself. And you would be able to harness all their powers too. The only problem with that was that you would eventually become too powerful. How could I control such raw power, I asked myself. And then I understood. You needed something for the power to feed on. And that meant having an adaptable controller. So Rogue, look at my controller. There they are, eight thousand of them, staring right at you on these walls. What do you think? What's the life of one compared too many? How many of them will you save? These," she said, bringing up the first set of mutants, "are the ones marked for absorption, by you or another, we will see today," she said cryptically, "and these," she added, bringing up another set for her to see, "are the ones who will pay for your mistakes. Every time you fail me in any way, one of them dies; similarly, any time you please me, one will go free, set for life with one million dollars. If you think that you can get out of the situation though, by ending _your_ life, all eight thousand plus lives will become worthless to me and I will terminate them in ways none too kind. So choose your actions carefully from now on Rogue. Lives depend on you. Think on that, for a while in your cell. You have a session in two hours. Prepare yourself well."

"Another goddamned new room," Rogue muttered to herself. "Ah think ah'm actually starting to miss the damned med labs. There at least I know what ah'm in for. This, this is just pissing me off."

"Did you say something?" Lilly asked over the speakers.

"None of ya damned business bitch!"

"I'll let that one slide for now, because I know that you had a shock. But next time I'll be going through my list to see who's scheduled for execution. Got me, _bitch_!"

Clamping her jaw shut in anger, Rogue bit her tongue from retaliating, not wanting another poor soul to lose his or her life, even though in this place, it might actually be blessing.

"Your assignment today is actually kind of simple. The rules are easy, '_kill or be killed'._ Your opponent is a Ms. Carol Danvers, also known as Ms. Marvel. She has super strength, invulnerability, flight, precognition and a slight measure of absorption. Rooting for you will be a Mr. Remy LeBeau, with an interesting ability to charge any object causing it to explode. Rooting for Ms Danvers is Jeuel-Marie Saunders, a class 3 pyromaniac. You win, Mr. LeBeau lives, and Ms. Saunders dies. You lose, he dies, and she lives. All very simple. Now let the battles begin!" Lilly said chuckling, "I always wanted to say that."

A door opened from a seemingly seamless wall and a tall brunette walked in. All Rogue could think of when she saw the woman was _power!_ It radiated off of her in waves.

_Shit!_ She was so dead.

"Look, Ms. Danvers, we don't have to do this. Please listen to me," Rogue tried to reason.

But it had no effect on the woman, as she continued stalking towards her. Rogue found herself backing away, trying to avoid the confrontation she knew was coming. Her eyes were completely blanked over, no sign of conscious life in them at all.

"We don't have to fight just for her pleasure!"

The woman continued walking towards her, in a seemingly zombie-like trance. But at the sound of Rogue's pleas she seemed to stop for a moment, her eyes blinked and finally she spoke.

"No, but we do have to fight for their lives…" she replied.

At that moment Rogue could have sworn she saw a flicker of life flash within the depths of her opponent's eyes,

"…and what's the life of one for many, right?" but it was gone as quickly as she had seen it.

There wasn't another word said.

Danvers attacked with a speed and force that Rogue had only seen in Wolverine, in full berserker rage.

A roundhouse kick to the face sent her flying, followed quickly with a brutal kick to the stomach. She felt something break.

Groaning, she had a split second to move again as she saw, barely, Carol's foot coming smashing down on her head.

Rolling away, she picked herself up, keeping her back to the wall.

Her inherited factor was trying valiantly to fight off both the effects of the suppressor and heal her ribs at the same time. She felt her bones painfully trying to knit together.

'You're trying too hard, kid,' Logan said. 'Let your instincts loose. It will guide you on what you need to do. Use my memories.'

'My memories may be of assistance as well,' Magneto offered, as they both force-fed her memories of war, fighting and death. She even got the bonus from Magneto of Sabertooth's style of fighting, which he had picked up in observing the feral over time.

This time when Carol attacked, Rogue used their advice to the full.

Using the woman's own momentum, she blocked the next kick and using her own weight against her, threw her face first into the wall.

Bones cracked, and Carol grunted.

"Bitch!!!"

"Bit off more than ya can chew there darlin'?" Rogue said tauntingly.

The older woman spat and smiled; her teeth bloody from her wounds.

"Not really; just means that I get a better workout than I expected."

She had not even finished speaking when she lunged again.

Both women tangled, and went rolling across the floor.

Carol ended up on top, and wasted no time in using her advantage, slamming her fist into Rogue's face. Grabbing her hair, she used it to slam the younger woman's head against the harsh floor.

Rogue screamed in pain as she felt her skull fracture.

Channeling the pain into anger, she pushed her open palm hard into Danvers's face, crushing her nose cartilage. She screamed long and high.

Rogue felt blood splatter on her face, and for once she could understand the sheer joy that ferals like Wolverine and Sabertooth felt in the hunt and kill.

It felt _good _to wound the enemy; to bathe in their blood.

Energized, she bucked, dislodging the woman of her perch. Following through, she flipped up, and following the stumbling woman, held her head in her head in her hands and head butted her. Carol fell, but slashed her legs at Rogue.

Both women were down.

Knowing their vulnerability they quickly rose again.

Carol swayed on her feet; Rogue swiped her hand at the back of her head, her fingers coming away red.

"It seems that we are at a cross roads, ladies," came Lilly's voice. Both women sneered at the unseen woman.

"Let's make things a little more interesting."

There was a slight disturbance of the wind to the left of her, and Rogue turned her head to see the six inch blade vibrating in the wall.

Not even to see the other woman's reaction she grabbed the knife out of the wall, attacking with a full fledge battle cry.

She swung the blade forcefully at her enemy, but Danvers' blade was there to meet hers. The sheer force of their combined efforts vibrated down their arms, causing both women to jump back.

Letting the Wolverine take complete control of her actions, Rogue attacked in full force.

All the pent up rage, the fear, the uncertainty, the unrelenting hatred was poured into her attack.

No longer was it Danvers' she was fighting, but Lilly. The brunette's face was super-imposed on Danvers.

Rogue's face pulled back in a fearsome snarl.

She continued unrelentingly. Her blade was like a whirl and Danvers had to struggle hard to keep her at bay. And still the blows kept coming.

Where the blade couldn't get through, her fist did, followed by her feet. She was merciless. Her eyes were cold and dark.

She would die.

She had to DIE!!!

"Die Bitch!!!!!!" Rogue screamed.

Danvers was on the floor, Rogue on top of her.

"DIE!!!" she screamed as she grabbed the hilt of the blade with both hands and buried it.

_**A/N: So what do you think of the chapter? Was it worth the wait? I expect the story to pick up a little more pace after this (that fight scene took a lot of work for me). The action continues.**_

_**Thanks, as always, to my beta (huggies, chica) and to all (every single one of u are darlings) my reviewers. I love you so very much.**_

_**To those who read the story so far and have any suggestions, queries, or flames, please don't hesitate to send me a message. Till next time, love ya!**_


	11. Resurrection

Resurrection

The mansion was quiet.

At 2:30 in the morning, one would expect it to be.

But Storm couldn't shake the feeling the something was about to happen.

It came from that close link to nature that she held. She wasn't a precog or a psychic, but she had a heightened sense when it came to certain things- a sixth sense.

She walked through the hallways, stopping to look in on a few children now and again.

Her children; her babies.

She now understood how the professor had felt about them. That special connection that each child had with you; you couldn't forget a single face, or smile, or tear.

Her musings took her directly to Rogue's door.

Her heart squeezed painfully at the thought of the young woman that they had lost. She had always been in the background, fading into the corners, except of course when it came to Wolverine. Then the two of them could always found together at some point.

She smiled at the thought. Rogue had that special connection with him that no one else shared, not even Jean, and he had professed to be in love with the redhead.

Thinking about Jean made the weight of her grief heavier. Another lost one.

A soft sound from Rogue's room caused her to snap out of her musings. Opening the door slightly she noticed Wolverine sitting at a chair by the window, holding something close to his chest.

But what shocked her more was the silent tears streaming down his face. His face was one of abject misery.

"She's in pain," he whispered softly.

Not hearing what was said, Storm stepped into the room, closer to him.

"What did you say, Logan?"

"She's in pain. Whatever they are doing to her, it rivals what was done to me by Stryker, and that's something I dread to even think about. But she's living it. AND THERE'S NOT A DAMNED THING WE CAN DO ABOUT IT."

"We've tried, Logan. We've tried everything we can think of. We've used every contact, worldwide that we hold, and they are numerous. We've called in every favor, paid thousands in bribes, and still… nothing. It's as if she vanished off the face of the earth."

"Don't you think I know that!!!? I am her goddamned mate. I feel with every heartbeat an immeasurable pain that impossibly seems to grow with each second that we are apart. And when they begin to torture her in earnest, I seem to feel every lash. My God, some mornings I actually wake up with bruises as if I'd just faced Sabertooth and lost badly. ME!! BRUISING!!! I don't know how it's possible. But that's not what the worse part of all is. It's the absorption. She has her powers back, y'know. And in eight months, I think she has absorbed at least a hundred mutants. A GODDAMNED HUNDRED!!!!

"Do you know what kind of stress she must be facing with so many entities in her head? Why didn't they take me instead, 'Ro? I could at least face whatever she is going through right now. But she… she's only twenty-one years old. What kind of life is that for a twenty-something to have?"

"I don't know what to tell you, Logan. I honestly don't know how to deal with this."

"Would you give me some space? Wolverine… well our little discussion has him riled and he doesn't like your scent at the moment."

Understanding her friend's need, she left the room quietly.

Still, something about the night seemed… anticipatory.

Her musings again brought her to a part of the mansion that she had avoided like a plague.

His memory was the strongest here, and the grief seemed to magnify in this room's presence.

Opening the door to the professor's office, she stepped inside, for the first time in almost a year.

Her eyes fell first on the empty chair, behind his mahogany desk.

A desk that had once shined with constant polishing and attention was now covered in a layer of dust.

That seemed to be a fitting depiction of the school.

It seemed as if the school was under a shroud of grief that didn't want to lighten. There rarely was laughter in the hallways anymore, and the students academic achievements were dropping.

"What do I do, professor? How do I help them? How do I help Logan? What about Rogue? … How do I help _myself_?"

"Ms. Storm?" came a childish voice from the doorway.

She jumped slightly, as if caught doing something naughty.

Turning to see who could be up at such an hour, she was confronted by a small dark haired child.

"Ryan, isn't it?'"

"Yes."

"What are you doing up so late, Ryan? Couldn't sleep?"

"Nope. You woke me up."

Taken aback, Storm asked, "I woke you up?"

"Yes."

Walking forward the little boy then placed his short arms around her knees, in a tight hug.

"What was that for?" she asked, pleased by the action.

"You needed it," he said simply.

"How did you know that I needed that?" she asked, again puzzled.

"You woke me up," he said cryptically. "Don't worry, everything will be okay. He's on his way home…well sort of."

"Who?"

"The professor."

"The professor?"

"Yeah. Your father. He's okay, and he's coming home. He told me so. Kurt's coming too. He should be here in a couple of minutes."

"Kurt?"

"Yes silly; Kurt. You know, blue, with marks and a tail. The man that loves you, and whom you love. That Kurt."

Stunned, Storm could do nothing as the boy gave her another quick hug.

"I'm going to check on Mr. Logan now. He needs a hug even more than you do."

He was gone before she could recover, as quickly as he came.

The phone broke her out of her reverie.

That phone call, gave her the hope she so desperately needed.

She looked heavenward, and for the first time, in as far as she could remember, she thanked God for small mercies; well big ones, too.

Tears ran unchecked down her cheeks.

That was the moment that Kurt chose to 'pop' in.

"Good evening, fraulein. What 'as you so sad 'is evenin'?" Kurt asked in greeting, taking the weather witch's hand in his.

"Not what, who. And I'm not sad, Kurt. I'm happier than I've been in almost a year."

_**A/N: So what do you think of this chapter? I had thought of writing this chapter differently, with Storm just receiving the phone call and going to collect the Professor. But then I thought "Where's the fun in that? Where would the innuendos be?" But the deciding factor was actually Ryan. I reread Strange Conversations and his character just struck me so much that I just had to bring him back, hence, this version of 'Resurrection'. Never fear though more action to come (yeah, yeah I know, I promised that before and it didn't come). But it is. I have a special chapter planned for the ass kicking of Lilly. But we'll see. **_

_**Anyways, (I sure do talk a lot), thanks as usual to my beta Sublime Angel. Stripes darling, I love ya!**_

_**To my faithful reviewers:**_

PyroWhore, TaraFish, saz89, shelaweena, dulcesweet, emma134, Trickstersthiefgirl, Mnesomne's Tears, xXxoddballxXx, lildevil0644, irisheyesrsmiling, irisheyesrsmiling, Die Schurkin, GrantingTroyTurner, Dita, Fallen-fairy-wings, noro and AnimeGoddessAthea.

Thank you so, so, so, so, so very much for you faithful following of this story.

PyroWhore: Darling I haven't heard from you in a while. Are you losing interest?


	12. Mistress and Slave

_**A/N: This chapter will contain some very gruesome details. If you can't handle, skip this chapter and move to the next (whenever that is posted). Strictly over 17 for this chapter.**_

_**Mistress and Slave**_

Rogue stared loathingly at the control consol above her.

"I said, finish it!" Lilly screamed.

She contemplated the action, looking down at her beaten foe, her co-conspirator, her saviour, her hell.

She couldn't kill the young boy, whom they had referred to as Mutant 143, but whom she had named Casey. He had been born into Lilly's world of torment and pain, a low level empath. But through it all he'd kept something vital, compassion.

Casey had been such a balm to her soul in this hell of hers. He'd been the one to dress her back from the whippings, resulting from the numerous occasions she'd defied Lilly. He'd been the one whom they'd actually allowed to be in her cell for more than a few minutes. He'd brought her meals. He'd been there; a ready shoulder to cry on after an execution. Even more he'd been there after the absorptions. Those were the worst. The new personality always struggled to live on through her body. There was always a fight for dominance in her body. But she'd learned, after the first few times when a strong personality pushed her away into the darkness of her own mind. Her mind was a scary place. She didn't want to spend too much time dwelling on it.

She looked down at him.

'Why? Why, did you try to stand up to her, Casey, when you knew that you couldn't win?'

But she knew. He did it for her. He'd told her of what was planned, and knew how much she hated the experiments on her skin.

She'd joked about it, telling him that that had become her norm. But he'd warned her of the fact that it would be worse than anything she'd ever experienced.

And it was true.

They'd literally started to cut the flesh off her back, with no anaesthesia and no pain killers. Her body processed them too quickly anyway, and Lilly wanted her to feel the bite of each cut. The doctors who worked with her were just as heartless. To them she was just another lab rat for them to experiment on.

She'd tried. She honestly had. But by the tenth cut she'd started screaming; and once she started she couldn't seem to stop.

Her screams must have driven him over the edge. He'd barged into the lab brandishing a scalpel, demanding that Lilly release her.

She'd laughed, until he'd actually cut her.

Then the anger had been released, and there was no stopping it. She'd taken him down in seconds.

Then came the whipping; sixty lashes.

Rogue had cried out at that.

Casey's frail frame couldn't take sixty lashes. She'd begged for her to take the whipping instead.

Lilly had agreed, but she should have known that Lilly never did anything because it was asked of her.

After the sixty lashes, when she had been delirious with pain, Lilly then declared what his new punishment would be.

A fight to the death; between him and Rogue.

That brought her to her present position.

She stared at him, and she knew, though she might not be able to save him, she couldn't execute him either. He'd been too good a friend for her to repay him in such.

So looking up at the consol, she lifted her head and straightened her shoulders.

"No! I'm not going to kill him. He's my friend!" she shouted defiantly.

"Rogue, do what I tell you or there is going to be a large recompense," she warned silkly.

Shaking her head in defiance, she once again stated, "No! I won't do it."

"Then so be it!"

She was a bundle of nerves, knowing the twisted and manipulative mind that was Lilly.

Stooping beside Casey, she took his hand in hers gently.

His blue eyes fluttered open, filled with pain.

Her throat constricted and she swallowed painfully.

"I'm sorry, my friend. I couldn't save you," she whispered.

"It is I who... should... be saying... sorry," he whispered back.

"You know she won't let this pass. But I couldn't kill you. You mean too much to me."

"You should have... Marie. She will only make... things worst for you."

"I can handle her," Rogue replied.

"Oh, you can handle me!" Lilly said above her.

Rogue looked up in shock. She hadn't even heard her approach.

And Lilly gave her no time react as she buried the dagger in Casey's chest to the hilt, held by both hands.

She watched in utter horror as his life's blood poured out of his chest. He gasped, and though rationally she knew that he was going to be dead soon, she tried to scoop the blood and pour it back into him.

"No… Rog.. ue. I'm ready to … go now. Love… you… Rog – " and then he was gone.

Rogue watched as his body became limp beneath her, and the ever present rage bubbled to the surface, full force, hot and red.

She snarled and then charged Lilly.

The whipping didn't matter, the numerous cuts and bruises disappeared from her mind. The only thing was the rage and the desire to kill and maim.

Lilly though had been ready for her. She dropped the dagger and claws popped out from beneath her nail beds. They resembled the claws of Sabertooth, short but sharp.

Rogue registered the move but didn't allow it to stop her. She ploughed into Lilly slamming them both roughly against the wall of the simulation room. The metal reverberated with the force of the move. Lilly stabbed her claws into Rogue's back, ripping flesh as she was thrown back.

Rogue screamed but then pushed the pain away, jumping back to avoid another swipe even as brought her feet up to deliver a smashing roundhouse kick. Lilly's head snapped with the force and her nose began to bleed, the cartilage damaged. Rogue plunged in to finish the job, snapping her open palm into Lilly's face, smashing the cartilage completely even as she dropped and swept the bitch's legs from beneath her.

Lilly fell hard; her head smashing into the titanium floor with a solid thud, cracking open her skull. But she didn't stay down for long. She flipped up with the grace and agility of the feline feral that she was.

"I must say that you've gotten exceptionally good. It seems that my training has been working."

"Up yours, Lilly – "

She watched in morbid fascination as the wounds on Lilly's face began to heal rapidly. The bones in her nose cracked as it repaired the damage that Rogue had worked so hard to inflict.

And with a sinking heart that she would never be able to win. She didn't have her powers, and had already endured much before this fight.

"_Kid, you may not have the powers but you've got knowledge. And knowledge is power. There are over a hundred of us up here and most of us have had experience either in the military or at least street fights. It's a way of life for most mutants. Use the knowledge, darling, and you can beat this bitch," her inner Wolverine growled._

"_That can be a little bit dangerous. If I release the personalities in my head I may not be able to put them back in their boxes. I'm not sure that I'm strong enough for another fight."_

"_True, but every single personality in here has a vendetta against this bitch and each of us wants to take a piece of her. So use it. Better to be alive and fighting than to be dead. Because if you don't show her that you are able to fight back, you are as good as dead, and probably the rest of the world with you."_

Rogue contemplated the advice for precious few seconds, and realized that it was her only shot. She had to do it.

She skimmed through the knowledge that she had of each mutant in her mind, picking the ones that would have had extensive military training or lots of years on the street. Then she released them from their cages and just let the knowledge flow. It was amazing the amount of knowledge that came with that one move. With all the knowledge that was accumulated it totalled into at least a thousand years of experience.

"_Relax, Darling and just let it flow. It will come to you; exactly what you need to do."_

And so she did.

It was amazing. Lilly attacked with a speed that she hadn't expected, claws extended, fangs bared. The full frontal attack would have scared her, but she heeded the advice.

It was as if she were outside her body, looking on at the fight. She saw herself smoothly counter the move by side stepping Lilly sticking her foot forward and using the woman's own momentum against her, holding her arm and snapping it back. Lilly's own weight worked against her as her body fell and Rogue held firmly to the arm.

A satisfying crack could be heard and the arm broke, and adding insult to injury she kicked the said arm hearing the bone shatter.

Lilly roared, but took hold of Rogue's leg with the other hand and tugged her down.

She lost her footing, but used the momentum to snap her feet into Lilly's face, once again smashing the woman's nose.

Lilly held onto her ankle, biting viciously into the flesh, all the way to the bone. Simultaneously her claws dug into her flesh and similarly penetrated to the bone.

Rogue screamed and snapped her other leg into the woman's face over and over and over again, until she released her death hold on her ankle.

Pulling herself away from her opponent, she dragged herself to the wall placing her back against the titanium wall. Panting, forcing herself to regroup she watched as Lilly did the same. But whereas her wounds continued to bleed profusely, Lilly's were already healing at a rapid pace. She saw Lilly's arm straighten and then eventually heal completely, and wanted to scream in complete frustration.

"_Calm your emotions. You're pouring too much adrenaline into your system and you're already bleeding too much as it is. She's made a serious wound there. It's going to affect your footing, so be careful." Wolverine warned._

They both circled each other, looking for the opening that could mean the defeat of the other. Rogue's eyes fell to the fallen dagger, and knew it to be her best shot at actually doing some serious damage, enough to bring her down or at least knocking her unconscious. She'd learned from Wolverine's memories that it was the best way to disable a feral. With their healing factor they were almost impossible to kill. The best way was to actually slow them down, which would give you time to escape. Since she didn't have an escape route; she couldn't escape at all, she needed to inflict as much serious damage as she could, more than the healing factor could handle at a given time.

Feeling her strength waning form the steady flow of blood dripping form her back, Rogue decided that she needed to act now or never.

Circling closer to the dagger, she was successful in grabbing it before Lilly could realize her intent.

Snarling, her face bloody, the woman said, "It's not going to help you know. It's just prolonging the inevitable. You will bow to me; you _**will**_ become my slave, whether you want too or not."

With a loud war cry she charged. She was able to cut the bitch straight across the face. Without giving her chance to recover, she swept her legs out from beneath her. Lilly held firmly to Rogue's waist, bringing her down with her. Both women crumbled hard.

They rolled, each fighting for dominance. Through it all Rogue held onto her dagger. Lilly grabbed her wrist as they rolled. They came up against the wall, Rogue on top. Rogue wasted no time in using her advantage; she slammed her fist repeatedly into the woman's face, connecting on several occasions with her teeth. She was sure that she felt some give.

Bucking, Lilly was able to dislodge her. Rogue charged again, catching her off guard. They slammed into the wall. Her fist connected heavily with Lilly's midsection. She felt the ribs give beneath the onslaught. Bringing up the dagger she plunged it into the belly of the woman, and then twisted it.

Her scream was like music to her ears. The blood of her enemy, pouring out, coating her hands felt like a blessing. Rogue felt like laughing to the heavens at the primordial satisfaction she felt.

Lilly joined her fists together, and slammed them down onto Rogue's spine, forcing the younger woman to her knees. Bringing up her knee, she smashed it into Rogue's face.

She screamed and fell back, trying to find a good defensive position.

"The best defence, is a good offence, kid," Wolverine offered.

Using the last of her remaining strength, she charged again.

But Lilly was ready for her this time. Using Rogue's own momentum against her, she grabbed hold of the woman's hair and used it to bodily slam her into the wall.

Rogue felt her spine snap, and knew it to be the end.

Lilly pulled the dagger from her stomach, the wound already starting to heal.

Without mercy, Lilly followed, brutally kicking her body as if it were a punching bag. She felt ribs break, and she was positive that one punctured her lung. She felt Lilly deliver a brutal kick to her trachea, and spasm as she sought to pull in sufficient air.

She was far gone to the pain, but when Lilly started to pull hunks of flesh from her torn back, she was brought back from the edge of unconsciousness.

She was snarling, in full feral rage as she attacked, again and again and again.

By the time she calmed enough to actually speak, Rogue was more of a bloody mess than a human being. There was barely anything left. There were hunks of flesh lying all about her and her spine could be seen plainly at her back, as Lilly had ripped all the flesh off of it.

"You think to DEFY ME!! I am your MISTRESS, and YOU are my SLAVE. MINE to do whatever I wish! Do you get that?"

But Rogue still rebelled. She would not submit!

"Then so be it. Bring her in."

Lying, bleeding on the floor, she watched as they brought in a young mutant. The girl could not have been more than ten years old.

"This is Sara. She's only eight years, but apparently her mutation developed early so she was on her way to me a little sooner than some of my other subjects," Lilly said cheerfully.

Rogue knew that voice, and though she was thoroughly immersed in pain so great that she actually wished to die, her stomach clenched in fear, and bile rose in response.

"I warned you that others would pay for your mistakes. So today, Sara shall pay for yours."

And in a blink of an eye, she plunged her feral hand into the chest cavity of the child and pulled out her still beating heart.

Rogue looked in horror as the action was registered by the child, as she looked in terror at the organ. There was comprehension, and then denial, as the child collapsed, dead.

Rogue's eyes opened wide in absolute horror and terror.

Lilly bent before her, in the direct line of her sight and presented the organ to her.

"This is your gift for your defiance. Do you submit now?" she asked quite calmly. "Or we can bring in others. And I can gift you with an organ for each of them. Now Rogue let me have your answer."

There was no movement for a full minute.

And then, drawing on the last reserves that she had, Rogue nodded.

Lilly smiled in pleasure. Getting up she spoke to the waiting Doctors and Lab assistants.

"Clean this mess up. And I want her ready and functioning to 100 in forty eight hours. She's going on an assignment."

"Doctor, do you think it wise?" a dark haired assistant asked. "Considering what just happened?"

Lilly turned back to look at Rogue badly beaten form and smiled when she noticed the tears streaming unchecked down the girl's cheek. Even more, was the utter hopelessness and terror in the girl's eyes.

"Oh, I don't think that we are going to have any problems at all."

If she had turned back, just for a second, she would have seen the fire burning in Rogue's eyes. A fire that signified that Lilly's end would not be a pretty one, and the one she believed she'd trampled would be the one to destroy her.

"Welcome home, Professor," Jubilee said, tearfully, as she embraced the man that had helped her so much in her times of need.

But as she touched him, she was forced to her knees by such a powerful, unearthly, terrifying, death-dealing psychic scream, all she could do was hold her head and scream.

She never noticed that the Professor, and any other students bearing even the slightest measure of telepathic or empathic powers doing the same.

Thousands of miles away, in her company's boardroom, surrounded by the members of her board, Emma Frost held her head and screamed in pure agony.

All over the planet, any mutant with the slightest measure of telepathy or emapathy, no matter the distance, was driven to their knees by the absolute agony that emanated from one entity. They could neither pinpoint nor ignore it. It demanded notice.

In her room at the Mansion, Logan lay curled in a foetal position, blood instead of sweat poured from his body, his body wracked with agony.

"My… Love…" he whispered. And then he passed out, along with thousands worldwide.

_**A/N: So what do you think of this chapter; was it was worth the wait? What could I have done better? Suggestions, pretty please. I know that it was really graphic, and to those who can't really stomach such things, I'm truly sorry, but as my beta always say "When the Muses say 'write' we must write" That's just how the chapter flowed from me. I did try to tone it down a little, but at 3 am, I just go with the flow.**_

_**So reviews, reviews.**_

_**Love to all my faithful reviewers, **_PyroWhore, TaraFish, saz89, shelaweena, dulcesweet, emma134, Trickstersthiefgirl, Mnesomne's Tears, xXxoddballxXx, lildevil0644, irisheyesrsmiling, irisheyesrsmiling, Die Schurkin, GrantingTroyTurner, Dita, Fallen-fairy-wings, noro and AnimeGoddessAthea thanks so much. I love ya.


	13. Hot Flashes

_**A/N: Okay, I'm back after such a long period between uploads. Really, really sorry about that, but I am at a crossroads with this story and had to decide exactly what the next chapter should entail. But with the loving help of my most faithful reviewer, PyroWhore, I was able to decide, so the next chapter is up.**_

_**To Die Schurkin, the fact that the wounds didn't kill her is a not so subtle hint to the fact that despite that the collar was on and effective, she's slowly evolving past it. She can't use her powers directly, of her own will, but subtly, her body is changing to accept the powers that she's absorbed as natural. Whereas the collars monitor brain activity, which for normal mutants will increase whenever they are using their powers, Rogue's is changing so that there is no increased brain activity, as natural as breathing. Since Wolverine is the one that she's closest to emotionally, his powers manifest first. But we'll be seeing more of this, so don't worry. Hope that answers all your questions.**_

**_THANKS SO SO SO MUCH TO ALL (EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU DARLINGS) MY REVIEWERS: _**

Die Schurkin, xxbrusiedxbrokenxx, jacobsboo, dulcesweet, lildevil0644, lvswtht, Litfan420, PyroWhore, noro and spedclass!

_**And that is enough of my yapping, so on to what you really want to read, the next chapter; ENJOY!!!

* * *

**_

_**Chapter 13 – Hot Flashes**_

He stared in complete awe at the beauty before him.

She was perfect.

Bountiful breasts; curvy hips; the perfectly rounded globes of her ass; pouty lips that just begged a man to worship them; licking and sucking until she came for him, only to start all over again. She was rightly proportioned for a woman, curves where there should be curves, but compact in the rest of the places. She was built for sex.

A long, hot, sweaty marathon of pounding hard _sex!_

_Damn!_ he thought. He was getting a hard-on just looking at his gorgeous savior.

And as if reading his thoughts, she turned her attention from their mutual captor and walked seductively toward him.

Watching the sway of her lush hips as she walked toward him, he felt as though he would come from just watching her walk … no sashay towards him.

_Mon Dieu! She has me hot and sweaty like some untried teenager!_

He was amazed that after such a brutal fight as the one he had witnessed, there was not a scratch to mar the perfection that was her.

Her clothes, or what little was left of them, bore more evidence of the fight that just took place than her body did.

But he couldn't say that he minded.

And then his brain short-circuited as she came within breathing space of him.

She leaned in close, so close that he could actually feel her nipples brushing his chest.

The part of his anatomy that badly wanted her attention, jumped to salute her.

Leaning closer still, she placed her lips close to his ear and breathed breathily into his ear.

He felt shivers run through his body; it felt as if he'd just gotten a pleasurable shock of electricity through his body; the same sensation felt after a powerful orgasm.

"Remy, isn't it?" she asked, in her southern accent and he thought that his heart stopped.

"…ye… yes?" he stammered.

"I want ya tah remember something' fo' mah. Can ya do dat?"

"Sure!" he replied eagerly, closing his eyes to fully experience the miracle of her voice washing over him.

"Remember… Genosha… Xavier… Children… Get out! ... LOGAN!!!"

"What!!! What the fuck!!!"

Snapping his eyes opened, he noticed that the goddess was literally fading before him.

"Wait!!!"

She looked at him sadly with her gorgeous doe eyes, and smiled a smile filled with such misery that he instinctively reached to comfort her.

But his hand passed right through her.

"Wait!!!"

"Remeeeeemmmmmbbbbeeeeer…. RRRRReeeeemmmmyyyyy," she whispered.

"I don't even know your name!" he shouted.

"RRRRRRRooooooggggggguuuuuuueeeee," she said. And then she was gone.

And in place of the feelings she'd evoked, came the pain. The unexplainable, excruciating pain!

Remy LeBeau, aka Gambit, snapped up in his bed, cold sweating from the dream he had just experienced.

"Mon Dieu! What de fuck was dat?" he whispered, running his hand through his disheveled shoulder length wavy hair.

He looked over at the beside clock.

**1:30 AM**

At least he'd actually gotten three hours sleep this time.

The same fucking dream; every fucking night.

And every night it ended in the same way: him waking up from an excruciating pain, with a raging hard-on, and the image of a goddess stuck front and centre in his brain.

Rubbing his eyes, he slipped nude out of the bed.

Trudging heavily to the bathroom of the four star hotel, to take care of his little problem. A cold shower usually worked, and if not there was always his hand.

After dealing with the most pressing problem he exited the bathroom, towel slung low over his hips and booted up the laptop.

_Might as well get something done_, he thought.

A month! A goddamned fucking month of his memory he'd lost. And he'd gained a million dollars in the process.

Oh, there was evidence that he'd taken a trip to the Bahamas; seemingly spending the month fucking and drinking the days away in loads of Caribbean sun.

But his mind denied the evidence.

As much as he tried to envision that time period, he couldn't.

His mind just drew a blank.

And then there were the dreams. The fucking dreams where he woke up with hard-ons and cold sweating. And he couldn't remember a fucking thing besides her face; particularly her eyes. Her sorrow-filled eyes that just begged for a little compassion. Compassion that he would give his soul to be able to offer her.

He just couldn't remember anything more than that. And he knew that there was something important that he was supposed to remember.

So every night after the dream he would spend the rest of the darkness, surfing the net trying to find any clue as to the woman in his dreams. But with nothing other than a description, even with such a distinctive feature as her white bangs, he couldn't find her. Not a goddamned thing!

So once again he begun his ritual, praying that perhaps, this would be the night that he actually found her.

His desperation to find her must have struck some chords with the Man upstairs, because it was through sheer coincidence that he just happened to enter the site about missing persons.

And it was by chance that he scrolled down the list of names and faces.

And it was some force of divine intervention that told him to stop scrolling at the exact moment her picture appeared on the screen.

And one word.

'_**Rogue**_'

He felt his heart stop.

* * *

**_A/N: Review anyone?_**

**_LOL._**


	14. The Assignment

A/N: So sorry for the long delay in the posting of a new chapter

_**A/N: So sorry for the long delay in the posting of a new chapter. Things are really tough right now. But I'll try to at least start back writing when I get the time. Hope this new chapter is worth the wait. **_

**The Assignment**

"You have one hour to kill five persons, all at present located in completely different parts of the world. It must be done without anyone even knowing that you were there. You will be a ghost. If you have not completed your mission in the allotted time, 100 mutants will die. If you are spotted, another 100 will die by my hand, if you should try to contact anyone, especially your X Geeks I will kill 5000 of the mutants in the worst possible way. Do you understand your mission?"

Rogue looked at the maniacal smile on Lilly's lips and she sincerely wished that the bitch would actually catch some loathsome disease and fall down dead.

"Do you understand the mission, Rogue?" she asked again.

"Yes," Rogue asked coldly. "Who do I have to kill?"

"Ah ah ah," she chided, wagging her finger at her. "Don't want to spoil the fun, now do we? You will be given your target and the method in which you must kill them at the time that I deem it necessary. For now, suit up! You're heading out in five minutes. Remember, one hour, Rogue. And no communication! You are aware that I don't like to be crossed. The consequences you will not like."

Rogue growled low and deep, her teeth pulled back in a snarl.

Lilly punctuated her words with a smug smile and a blast from the collar.

The jolt didn't even faze her. Defiantly, she growled even deeper.

Lilly, obviously in a forgiving mood, let it slide as she walked briskly out of the room.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

It's amazing how easy it was for one to lose one's scruples and morality when the life of literally the world was held in one's hands.

Rogue looked down at her hands.

They were clean.

They bore no evidence of the atrocities of the acts she had just committed.

But in her mind's eye, she saw them covered in blood. Their blood.

She had just cold-bloodedly taken the lives of four human beings and one mutant.

She bowed her head in shame.

'How could I have done it?' she asked herself.

She had believed herself so morally strong. She had believed that she had been capable of standing up against her. Of taking a stand for righteousness. But she hadn't. Lilly being the predator and goddamned bitch that she was she actually found a way behind her defenses.

She remembered the first one.

He had been right in the heart of New York; in his penthouse suite, totally surrounding by security. And she'd walked right past them.

Invisibility. Mariah.

She'd walked into the man's bedroom. Watched as he berated one of his employees over his mobile phone. Watched as he disrobed and walked into the bathroom. She watched as he came out. And still she hadn't been able to do it. Even after she'd seen him take out the file of the woman he had slated for assassination. A woman that was a single mother to two gorgeous children.

But she hadn't been able to do it.

She had been about to walk away.

And just like that in her mind she could see Lilly there, casually chatting with one of the terrified mutants. One whom she had seen on more than one occasion. One whom she believed may have had a chance. She was fourteen years old and she'd been taken from her home. Her parents had known that their daughter was a mutant and had loved her still.

Rogue remembered the tape that Lilly had shown her of the child's mother's grief when she had discovered that Lolita was missing. She'd updated her as to the continued search for their daughter. And Lilly being the sick individual that she was had commented on the fact that she had actually sending the parents a picture of what their daughter looked like now, after a year of imprisonment in hell. The bitch had just wanted to see if she could twist the knife a little more.

And then Lilly looked at her in her mind. She could hear her plainly as if she was right before her.

"You finish the mission, I'll let her go home to her mommy. You don't, and she's the first casualty. Simple. His life or hers."

And then the vision was gone.

And with it the pain of the decision she knew she had made.

And so she took her first life; of her own free will.

She became a cold-blooded murderer.

It wasn't like the other times when she had been forced to absorb the others. The hundreds that had now taken up permanent residency in her head were all put there by others. Forced there by Lilly and her minions, while she lay strapped, unable to move.

Now she had made a conscious decision to take a life.

And with it another part of her soul died.

And she wondered at the end of it all, if there would be any of her soul left.


	15. ROGUE

_**A/N: OMG! I can't believe how long it's been since my last update. I am so so very sorry. To all my faithful reviewers I must say ah heartfelt sorry. Things have been ridiculously crazy with me lately; and I'm not even sure I'll be able to continue writing on a regular basis, but you have my promise that I will continue to try. So, after so long, here's the next chapter.**_

_**Chapter 15 – R.O.G.U.E.**_

Her name was just one word.

But it meant the world to him. His throat closed up, and believing that he was perhaps dreaming once again, he pinched himself.

No'; this was real.

He'd bloody found her. His heart pounded in excitement.

But then his eyes fell on the words below her picture.

_**MISSING! If you have any information on this woman, please contact anyone at the Xavier's School for the Gifted at…..**_

"_Fuck! De Cherie's ah Geek!"_ he thought.

But as he pondered it, he realized that it didn't matter. He was closer to finding her than he was before; and now he knew that he wasn't going fucking crazy.

"_So if she's a geek, means that the matchstick would know her," he thought._

Picking up the phone his cell phone he dialed the prick's number.

"Who the fuck is this?!" came the angry response.

"Dis be Gambit, boy, and de matchstick better watch his tongue before de Remy feeds it ta ya!"

"It's fucking two o'clock in the fucking morning, Gambit. The world better be in mass chaos, or _I_ will fucking kill you!"

"De Remy has ah question ta ask ya."

Sighing, Pyro flipped back the covers and strolled naked into the bathroom.

"Since it seems that this can't possibly wait; ask away Gambit."

"How well do ya know de Rogue?"

Pyro paused in mid-stride. "Why the fuck you want to know about Rogue?" he growled.

Remy frowned at the aggressive tone of the hothead. He could have sworn he heard a note of possessiveness in the boy's tone. And regret, as well. And that note had his own possessiveness surging forward. De goddess was HIS. And she was his ALONE.

"Jus' asking ah question, matchstick. Goin' ta answer it?" Gambit growled back.

"If you've set your eyes on her, Remy, you swamp rat, you're going to find out how much of a hothead I really am!"

Those words sucker punched him in the gut.

"Wha' de fuck dat mean?"

"It means that Rogue's got too much to worry about ta' have some low down belly dragging snake sniffing after her. And she's the one thing I actually missed from Xavier… she's the one thing that I will look out for, after myself."

"If de Remy didna know better, de Remy would say dat ya sound like ah man in love there, John," Gambit remarked.

Silence greeted him.

"Fuck! De Pyro is in love! Well fuck me!"

"I'd rather not," came the dry comeback. John sighed again. "Why are you interested in her Remy? She's not even your type of girl."

"Since when does de Remy have ah type?" Gambit joked.

John gave a wry chuckle. "True… But really, Remy, why?"

It was Gambit's time to sigh. "'Member when de Remy told ya that the month's memory of de Remy's vacation didna feel right?"

"I remember. Though how you can think so is beyond me. You told me that all you remember doing was fucking, drinking, gambling and sleeping. And as I recall your gambling earnings came in excess of a million. What's wrong with that picture, I have no fucking idea!"

"Ya wouldn't. But da memories didna feel right. An' every night since, de Gambit been wakin' from ah dream tha' he can't remember, but da picture of ah goddess with black an' white hair, front an' center in de Remy's mind. It's been frustratin' de hell out of de Remy, 'cause ah know dere's somethin' important de Remy's s'posed to remember."

"Ah fuck, man!"

"Yeah, dat's exactly how de Remy be feeling. So wha' can ya tell de Gambit ta find his Goddess?"

"That if you want trouble; you goddamned chose the right girl to find it with… Rogue's been missing for over two months now. And it seems that the resident Wolverine has finally pulled his head out of his ass and made a claim on the girl. 'Bout damn time too."

"So de Wolverine, he love de Rogue?"

"Yeah. And she has loved him since he first saved her almost six years ago. He just didn't see it till too late."

"But de Remy thought that you loved the chere?"

"Remy, my friend, that is one woman that has a host of unrequited lovers, but the only one she has eyes for is Logan, and we all know it. And it's best that you realize it too. It'll save you a whole lot of heartache."

And with that Pyro hung up.

He sighed. "_Rogue, I hope you're well, darling. As much as a worthless dog I am, you saw worth in me and for that I'm eternally grateful. And why I actually pray that we'll be able to find you before it's too late."_


End file.
